Chiefs preparing for season opener on Thursday night at Wisconsin

Tuesday

Apr 1, 2014 at 9:56 PM

Dave ReynoldsOF THE JOURNAL STAR

PEORIA — The 2014 Peoria Chiefs got their first look at Dozer Park with a Tuesday night workout.

Some had seen the ballpark before.

Eight players and pitching coach Jason Simontacci were Chiefs last season. New manager Joe Kruzel is familiar with the facility, having spent five years as hitting coach for Midwest League rival Quad Cities .

“I loved it here last year,” said relief pitcher Joe Scanio. “The fans are great and the ballpark is one of the nicest I’ve played in.”

Pitcher Nick Petree, who is scheduled to start next Tuesday’s home opener against Dayton, also knows the park well, but as an opponent. He pitched against Bradley when he was Missouri State’s ace.

“I like the park, the locker room,” said Petree, a ninth-round draft choice by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2013, who had a 1.62 earned run average in his pro debut at State College. “Is that Jumbotron new? That’s awesome.”

The Chiefs arrived in town Monday afternoon after a long travel day. They stopped at the ballpark briefly and then established their living quarters for the season.

“It was a long travel day, so it’s good to get them out running around and into baseball work again,” Kruzel said.

Before taking the field and facing the windy, cool conditions, Kruzel and Chiefs President Rocky Vonachen ran through Peoria’s team rules and guidelines with the 25-man squad, which will open the season Thursday night at Wisconsin.

The weather forecast for Appleton is not baseball friendly. It’s expected to be in the 30s on Thursday, with significant snowfall expected Friday.

“When you leave spring training, you tell them to get some warm clothes,” Kruzel said. “It’ll be cold when we’re in Wisconsin. But over 50 percent of the major league clubs are in cold-weather states. So it’s something you’ve got to learn to play with and deal with. The sooner you do it, the better off you’ll be.”

Kruzel opened Tuesday’s workout with outfield cutoff and relay drills. There was some more fundamental work before the practice settled into the normal batting practice routine as the pitchers played long toss in the outfield.

Lefty Jimmy Reed, a sixth-round draft choice last year who was 3-2 with a 2.05 ERA at State College, will start the opener. He’s followed in the six-man rotation by rightt-handers Silfredo Garcia and Alex Reyes, lefty Chase Brookshire, Petree and Arturo Reyes.

“All of our pitchers are fun to play defense behind,” said second baseman Mason Katz, a first-time Chief. “They all have a fast tempo.”